1. Field
The present application relates to a smart entry system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a smart entry system, a portable device carried by an operator (such as a driver) and an on-vehicle system mounted on a vehicle perform wireless communication to lock or unlock the doors.
For security reasons, the smart entry system may adopt a configuration where the doors other than the driver's door (hereinafter referred to as the “passengers' doors”) are not unlocked in an unlocking operation. In this case, to unlock the passengers' doors, it is necessary to operate a door switch in the vehicle after unlocking the driver's door, or it is necessary for the operator, who carries the portable device, to go to the passengers' doors by himself/herself to unlock the passengers' doors. This places a heavy operation load on the operator. For the passengers (who do not carry the portable device), it is necessary to wait until the operator completes an operation of unlocking the passengers' doors, and this is also burdensome for the passengers.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5311083 discusses technologies (so-called selectable unlocking) for selectively unlocking only the driver's door or all the doors in an unlocking operation. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 5311083, a touch sensor and a mechanical switch are provided on an exterior door handle on the driver's door.
In the configuration of Japanese Patent No. 5311083, while the driver's door is locked, when only the touch sensor is operated, only the driver's door is unlocked; and when both the touch sensor and the mechanical switch are operated within a certain period of time, all the doors are unlocked. Japanese Patent No. 5311083 also discloses a configuration where, while the driver's door is locked, when the mechanical switch is operated once, only the driver's door is unlocked; and when the mechanical switch is operated a plurality of times within a certain period of time, all the doors are unlocked.
However, the above-described smart entry system of the related art leaves room for improvement in terms of operability.
That is, in the configuration of Japanese Patent No. 5811083, unlocking all the doors by combining operations of the touch sensor and the mechanical switch involves operating a plurality of operation sections (touch sensor and mechanical switch) that have different operation methods, which is difficult for the operator to understand how to operate. Unlocking all the doors by operating the mechanical switch a plurality of times involves many operations performed by the operator until the doors are unlocked. It is difficult to alleviate the operation load on the operator.